The lyric “Gently down the...” is completed by “stream” in “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”
The familiar first verse invites singers to row gently down a stream, then repeats “merrily” before ending with the philosophical phrase “life is but a dream.” The wording is simple, but the song is especially memorable because it is commonly performed as a round, with different voices beginning at staggered times.
The earliest known printing dates to 1852. The words were already close to the modern version, but the tune was different. The melody most people know today was recorded with the lyrics in 1881, in a collection associated with Eliphalet Oram Lyte.
“Brook,” “river,” and “water” can seem like natural substitutes, but they are not the standard lyric. The song’s Roud Folk Song Index number is 19236, and it remains a staple of early-childhood singing because its short phrases make overlapping parts easy to learn.